Herbert Lawford

Herbert Lawford
Lawford, standing, on the right side
Full name Herbert Fortescue Lawford
Country (sports) United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Born (1851-05-15)15 May 1851
Bayswater, England
Died 20 April 1925(1925-04-20) (aged 73)
Dess, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Turned pro 1878 (amateur tour)
Retired 1890
Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF 2006 (member page)
Singles
Career titles 17 [1]
Highest ranking No. 1 (1887, Karoly Mazak)[2]
Grand Slam Singles results
Wimbledon W (1887)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Wimbledon 1R (1884)

Herbert Fortescue Lawford (15 May 1851 – 20 April 1925) was a former co-World No. 1 tennis player from Scotland who won the Men's Singles championship at Wimbledon in 1887, and was runner-up a record 5 times (shared with Arthur Gore).

Career

In the 1887 final, the native of Bayswater defeated Ernest Renshaw (also of Great Britain) in five sets: 1–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4. He reached the finals of Wimbledon in 1880, 1884–86, and 1888.

Lawford won the first major men's doubles tennis tournament, the Oxford University Men’s Doubles Championship, in 1879 partnering Lestocq Robert Erskine.[3] This event was a precursor to the Wimbledon men's doubles championship, introduced in 1884, and it was played over the best of seven sets ending in a score of 4–6, 6–4, 6–5, 6–2, 3–6, 5–6, 7–5.[lower-alpha 1] In 1885 he won the singles title at the inaugural British Covered Court Championships.

Birth of the topspin: the Lawford-stroke

Lawford is said to be the first person to introduce "topspin" to the game of tennis.His formidable forehand was called 'the Lawford stroke'. Lawford made a more substantial contribution in technically advancing the game. He unveiled the “Lawford forehand,” introducing topspin into the sport with that revolutionary shot. Aggressive and unwavering, he was equipped with power, speed and uncanny accuracy.He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006.[4]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title, 5 runners-up)

Outcome Year Championship Opponent Score
Runner-up1880Wimbledon ChampionshipsUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland John Hartley3–6, 2–6, 6–2, 3–6
Runner-up1884Wimbledon ChampionshipsUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland William Renshaw0–6, 4–6, 7–9
Runner-up1885Wimbledon ChampionshipsUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland William Renshaw5–7, 2–6, 6–4, 5–7
Runner-up1886Wimbledon ChampionshipsUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland William Renshaw0–6, 7–5, 3–6, 4–6
Winner1887Wimbledon ChampionshipsUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Ernest Renshaw1–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up1888Wimbledon ChampionshipsUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Ernest Renshaw3–6, 5–7, 0–6

Notes

  1. ↑ Some sources show the result of the final set as 10–8

References

  1. ↑ "Herbert Fortescue Lawford: Stats". tennisrachives.com. Tennis Archives. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  2. ↑ Mazak, Karoly (2010). The Concise History of Tennis, p. 15.
  3. ↑ "Oxford University Lawn Tennis Club: 1879-1883". Norham Gardens Lawn Tennis Club.
  4. ↑ http://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/herbert-lawford
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